Browsing the Golden Plover Museum is a fascinating part of any visitor's time
at Colville Village. The museum is always accessible and especially entertaining if severe winter conditions or
unpleasant summer weather keeps you from enjoying outdoor activities.

The museum's beginnings can be traced to a young boy's incessant appetite for
collecting samples of nature's bountiful treasures. Jim, and later all the family members, developed a propensity
for saving interesting keepsakes collected over 50 years of life in the Arctic: ancient bones & tusks, shells,
artifacts, plants, mounted birds & animals, etc. Many Eskimo-made items, plus the Helmericks' own Alaskan fur
clothing and cold-weather paraphernalia are displayed in the museum.

Not only does the museum contain a large collection of Alaskan items, but also various things from all over the
world, (much of this was acquired by Jim's parents during extensive travels throughout the world.) Other people
have also contributed various things over the years.

Our son Derek has mounted hundreds of life-like bird displays and many study-skins of both birds and small mammals.
Isaac has also contributed mounted specimens to this outstanding and continually growing collection.